» QUICK OVERVIEW «
Stars: ★★★☆☆
Plot: ★★★☆☆
Readability: ★★★★☆
Characters: ★★★☆☆
Writing: ★★★☆☆
Recommend: ✗

» PLOT «
After several failed relationships, Joe lands in the Pacific Northwest with a new muse. But as his past comes to haunt him, Joe is tested like never before

This is only a slight spoiler, but

why did so many people just "conveniently" die without being murdered by Joe?

We've already seen that Joe is not a good person and doesn't do the right things. The entire book is told from his perspective, so he is always justifying his actions and telling himself and the reader/Mary Kay that he is a good person because "it was for you (Mary Kay)" or because "it wasn't my fault." I don't mind that Joe actually believes that he is a good person, but why is the general narrative/events shifting to favor Joe? It's not like he's actually changing for the better or anything. All the people that were in his way

conveniently died

, making this less of a thriller and honestly, too easy for Joe. It would've been nice to see Joe attempt to overcome those challenges (possibly for the better), but instead, all of his human obstacles were permanently removed from the equation without tarnishing his character.

Okay the plot twist with Nomi at the end was shocking and odd to say the least. I can (maybe kinda) see how she thought

Joe was into her, but what happened to her relationship with her mom?! Or the fact that she was assaulted

? No indication of it or

her resentment towards her mother

until the end of the book.

» READABILITY «
This was medium paced, honestly not a lot happened compared to Hidden Bodies.

» CHARACTERS «
Joe hasn't really changed all that much, but like I said above, everything is coming easy to him now. He is blameless.

I don't understand Mary Kay at all. Of all of the girls Joe has fixated on, she is the worse. I don't understand her reasonings or actions at all. Like why, in the middle of a relationship with Joe, she decide to

leave him for her late husband's brother??

Not to mention the fact that she, for some reason, thought her druggy husband's

death and overdose

was her own AND Joe's fault. Like what?

I mentioned more about Nomi above.

» WRITING «
I don't know what's up with Caroline Kepnes, but what is with her (and Joe's) obsession with weird replacement names/nicknames? Words like "meerkat," "Murakami,"fecal-eyed," and more are repeated SO MANY TIMES.

» OVERALL «
Better than You, worse than Hidden Bodies.